Losing Lily (Eli Moskowitz x Fem OC)

1

His fall down the slippery slope was slow. So slow that you'd barely see that he was changing. Well, aside from the abrupt makeover that happened halfway through the school year. But, before we get to that...let's see what led up to it.

I'm standing in line in the cafeteria, only about a month or so after the school year started. As I wait for my food, my eyes scan the crowded tables in search of the same pair of eyes I always search for. Eli's. They finally land on a mostly empty table, save for two boys leant over their trays trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible.

He glances up from his tray, doing a double take when he sees me already looking. Despite my blushing cheeks, I raise one hand in a slight wave while I smile shyly. His eyebrows lift and he looks back down at his tray quickly. Shoot. Just as I was about to turn back to the line, he looks up and his lips are pulled into a timid smile while he raises two fingers and his thumb in a quick 'hey' gesture.

Just as fast, he's no longer looking at me. But, I can't wipe the grin from my face as I take my food from the counter and move down the line.

~

Eli completely checks out of the conversation when he sees Lily looking in his direction. He's had a crush on her since freshman year when they met in science class. The teacher called for everyone to pair up and instead of waiting for them to be the last two to have partners and be paired up by default, she walked straight over to him and shook his hand.

She turns back to the food line after he waves and he continues to track her movements subtly. Suddenly, there's an elbow in his shoulder and he's rubbing the sore spot with his hand. "Dude, what the hell?" He snaps at Dimetri defensively.

"If you would just stop eye-banging her from across the cafeteria and ask her out...one of us might actually have a shot at having girlfriend," he teases encouragingly.

"I'm not eye-banging her! I wouldn't-" Eli sighs, crossing his arms on the table and resting his chin on top of them as he goes back to longing after her. "She'd never go out with me," he declares, "she only sees me as a friend. And I don't blame her...I mean look at me."

"Sure, man," he scoffs, "whatever you say." Demetri knows not to press the subject of his insecurity. So, even though he strongly thinks she likes him back...he can't force Eli to gain enough confidence in himself enough to notice.

The next time Eli looks up for Lily, he notices a lanky boy making his way toward their table. "Is it cool if I sit here?" He asks politely.

"Oof, sorry," Demetri sucks in air through his teeth sarcastically, "table's really blowing up right now." Eli laughs silently as Demetri gestures to the entirely otherwise empty table. "I can put you on the waitlist, but it's probably next semester at the earliest," he continues.

The kid pauses for a moment before turning to leave. "O-okay."

"No, I'm kidding," Demetri says before he can fully walk away, "sit." He gestures to the chair next to Eli.

As he pulls out the chair to sit, Eli's eyes widen. "N-not this one," he stutters, scrambling to cover the chair with both of his hands.

"Why...not?" He asks cautiously as he takes the one next to the one Eli is claiming.

He sets his tray down while Eli looks around in panic before his eyes fall on something past the boy's shoulder. His worried frown melts into a hopeful smile and the boy can barely turn to look over his shoulder before a girl speaks.

~

"Because that seat is mine," I giggle after hearing the whole exchange upon my approach. "Thanks for saving it. Nice to know at least one of you," I glare daggers at Demetri, "likes my company."